Island



(No `Model.)

J. H. HLLEN.

GAN OPENER. No. 548,917.

Patented Oct. 29,1895.

INVENTEIR.

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@me Se UNTTED STATES PATENT JAMES H. HOLLEN, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

CAN-OPEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,917, dated October 29, 1895.

' Application tiled September 4, 1895. Serial No. 561.432. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES H. HOLLEN, of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oan-Open ers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to that class of devices intended to facilitate the opening of the tin cans in which fruit, 85e., are inclosed for preservation. It is fully explained and illustrated in this specification and the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 represents a top view of the can-- opener applied to a can. Fig. 2 is a crosssection 0f the same, taken through the center of the can on line fr x, Fig. l. Fig. 3 shows the under side of the opener.

The object of this invention is to make an opener by means of which the center of the can-head can be correctly located and a pivot entered at that point to furnish a fulcrum around which the opener can swing and give in operating it a leverage to the hand over the knife that does the cutting, so as to make the operation easier to perform.

The opener consists of two plates B A, substantially of the same shape, excepting that plate B has a handle a and a socket u for the knife r, made fast on it. Each plate B A has a slot 'n made through it lengthwise for about one-half of its length from near the inner end, and a thumb-screw b is made with a screwthread on its lower end, tapering to a point to enter the head h of the can, and a smooth portion sbetween the screw-thread and the thumb part to slide freely in the slots rnef the plates B A. The two plates B A are hinged together by a pivot d, and the curved cross-arm of each plate has spuds or projections g g at its ends, on the under side, extending downward to press against the side of the can O. A handle a is made on the outside of the crossarm of the plate B, and a socketo to hold the knife r is also made on plate B on the inner side opposite to the handle a, and a set-screw c is put through the inner side of the socket 'u to hold the knife fast.

The operation is as follows: The opener is placed on the head h of the can with the spuds g g down by the side of the can, and the two cross-arms of the plates are pressed toward the can, so as to bring all four of the spuds g g against the outside of the can, and thetwo spuds of each cross-arm will bring the slot n in that plate across the center of the head, and where the slots of the plates cross each other will be the center of the canhead h. The thumb-screw b being free to slide in the slots n will naturally become located where the slots cross, and consequently be in the center of the can-head. A slight blow on the upper end of the thumb-screw will cause its point to pierce through the tin, and by turning the thumb-screw by its upper end the taper screw-thread will draw it down until the tin head has passed up onto the smooth part of the set-screw above the thread. Then a slight pressure on the handle a, will cause the pointed knife r to cut through the head of the can a little way inside of the outer edge of the can-head, and by drawing the handle around the can-head, using the set-screw b as a pivot or fulcrum, the knife will cut out the head of the canvand leave it entirely open. In this way the thumb-screw b automatically iinds the center of the can without regard to its size, and the pivot on which the opener swings being in the center the knife will cut out the whole head with a smooth cut and leave the can in the best shape to discharge its contents.

It will readily be seen that this can-opener will answer for larger or smaller cans without any special adjustment, and thereby save much time and enable any one to use it with facility.

Having thus described my improvement, I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent-V In a can opener the combination of two plates having cross arms with spuds on-them, and pivoted together by said cross arms, and having slots made lengthwise of said plates, with a thumb screw fitted to slide freely in said slots, and a knife, substantially as described.'

JAMES H. HOLLEN.

Witnesses:

L. J. BUSH, BENJ. ARNOLD.

IOO 

